PMID: 8600755Mar 1, 1996Paper

Cardiac effects of standard-dose halofantrine therapy

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
P A MatsonR A Meriwether

Abstract

The antimalarial drug halofantrine hydrochloride has been associated with cardiac arrhythmias. This is a report of a study on the cardiac effects of standard-dose halofantrine (24 mg/kg) on a sample of 48 patients selected from a group of 402 Dega (Montagnard) refugees treated for Plasmodium falciparum infection. Prolongation of the rate-corrected QT interval (QTc) on the electrocardiogram (ECG) was used as an indicator of risk for halofantrine-associated cardiac arrhythmias. We found that standard-dose halofantrine was associated with a lengthening of the mean QTc from 0.04 sec(1/2) to 0.44 sec(1/2). Two patients had a QTc increase of greater than 25%, but none had a follow-up QTc of more than 0.55 sec(1/2), an interval length generally considered to be a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias. Regression analysis indicated that pretreatment ECGs were poorly predictive of QTc lengthening during therapy, although pretreatment ECGs may be useful to evaluate patients with pre-existing cardiac conditions. The manufacturer has recommended that the halofantrine dose not exceed 24 mg/kg and revised the list of medication contraindications to include some cardiac conditions. Clinicians should weigh a patient's risk, including history...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 29, 2000·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·R BakshiE Alteri
Jan 15, 2004·Drug Safety : an International Journal of Medical Toxicology and Drug Experience·W Robert J Taylor, Nicholas J White
Feb 24, 2010·Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics·C P BabalolaG K E Scriba
Sep 10, 2003·Journal of Travel Medicine·Olivier BouchaudJean P Coulaud
Oct 24, 2007·European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology·Yetunde T KoladeGerhard K E Scriba
Sep 24, 1999·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·A SowunmiA M Oduola
Nov 15, 2006·Journal of Clinical Pharmacology·Johanna P Daily
Apr 12, 2001·British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology·D R AbernethyB G Schuster
Sep 26, 2000·Journal of Travel Medicine·D MalvyM Le Bras
Jan 1, 1997·Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases·S G GundersenG Edwards
Dec 1, 1996·Infectious Disease Clinics of North America·G S Murphy, E C Oldfield

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